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  • Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm
    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm rep...Read more

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    Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm

    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm repeatedly. Daily levels of CO2 can vary due to weather, and there are seasonal trends as well. The level of atmospheric greenhouse gases continues to increase, now over 120 ppm since the Industrial Revolution began. For more on the Keeling Curve, see http://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu/. Find out more about greenhouse gases and warming.
  • Massive Tornado Outbreak on Tornado Alley
    The week of May 19 brings dozens of tornadoes to Tornado Alley in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Io...Read more

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    Massive Tornado Outbreak on Tornado Alley

    The week of May 19 brings dozens of tornadoes to Tornado Alley in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. On May 20th, a massive tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, devastating communities - destroying over 100 homes and hitting two elementary schools and a hospital - with many casualties and deaths. Our thoughts are with our friends and colleagues suffering from these storms. For more on the May 20th storms, see the NOAA Storm Prediction Center Storm Report.
  • Kansas Legislator Proposes Bill to Outlaw Sustainability Education
    A bill has been introduced in the Kansas legislature this week that would prohibit the promotion of ...Read more

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    Kansas Legislator Proposes Bill to Outlaw Sustainability Education

    A bill has been introduced in the Kansas legislature this week that would prohibit the promotion of sustainability. Here is a link to the one-page bill: http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2013_14/measures/documents/hb2366_00_0000.pdf. See report on Bloomberg News.
This is an artist's description of Indra.
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Indra

In the Rig Veda, which is a collection of antique Hindu hymns, Indra is described as the king of the gods. He has authority over the sky and the power to make rain using his weapon, the thunderbolt. Indra is depicted as a man with four long arms riding a white elephant. He is the god of battle. Before each battle, he becomes intoxicated with a divine drink of mysterious origin called soma.

Indra's indulgence in drinking soma makes his belly a disproportionate size. It is said that the juice, soma, empowers him to accomplish his mythological tasks. Indra's major attribute is his strength. He is the heroic figure responsible for slaying the serpent Vritra.

Vritra had swallowed the cosmic waters bringing a tremendous drought in the world. Indra split the belly of the serpent with his thunderbolt releasing the waters and generating life. Unfortunately, the approval for this episode is shadowed by other humiliating stories, like the seduction of Ahalya. Ahalya was the wife of the sage Gautama. To seduce Gautama's wife, Indra dressed himself as the sage and went to Ahalya's house to have intercourse with her.

The woman recognized the king of the gods but she accepted him anyway. When Gautama found out about the adultery, he cursed his wife and the king of he gods. As a result of the curse, Indra lost his testicles and Ahalya had to live in hermitage. Indra was a parallel of the Greek sky god Zeus.

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